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a. Funny you said that, Dice has never robbed my music of bass or treble, etc. The way to find-out is scroll through your EQ settings on your Ipod and listen if there is any variance - you can then play with the settings on the radio for further tuning. Dice has been perfect for me there. NO BASS loss at all!

b. My Dice unit has always played music once I understood how to configure the pins on the unit wrt my radio's year of production. To date, it still plays music..

c. Battery reset is due to b. above..once you set the pins accordingly you are good to go..

Note: My biggest gripe with Dice was the static noise, known as tic-tac-tic-tac. Once members here discovered the trick to move the pin2 to pin 3 on the BMW harness (in the trunk) my static noise is history. Dice has been flawless ever since...

My last gripe with Dice is that it takes time to scroll through artists - I have many of them and it's a pain there..

Don't just look at the USA-Spec! Look at the Peripheral iPod interface kit. It's what I have in my car and I LOVE it. I can actually browse through the iPod like it's meant to be browsed, without dealing with the head unit. And I can switch songs and what not from the head unit/steering wheel if I want to.

a. Funny you said that, Dice has never robbed my music of bass or treble, etc. The way to find-out is scroll through your EQ settings on your Ipod and listen if there is any variance - you can then play with the settings on the radio for further tuning. Dice has been perfect for me there. NO BASS loss at all!

b. My Dice unit has always played music once I understood how to configure the pins on the unit wrt my radio's year of production. To date, it still plays music..

c. Battery reset is due to b. above..once you set the pins accordingly you are good to go..

Note: My biggest gripe with Dice was the static noise, known as tic-tac-tic-tac. Once members here discovered the trick to move the pin2 to pin 3 on the BMW harness (in the trunk) my static noise is history. Dice has been flawless ever since...

My last gripe with Dice is that it takes time to scroll through artists - I have many of them and it's a pain there..

Do you have a DIY for that?? That's the only issue I've had with my DICE

Do you lose your bookmarks when you leave the car? That's my main gripe with the Dice. When you press playlist, album, or artist buttons after starting the car, it starts from the beginning of the list.

Note: My biggest gripe with Dice was the static noise, known as tic-tac-tic-tac. Once members here discovered the trick to move the pin2 to pin 3 on the BMW harness (in the trunk) my static noise is history. Dice has been flawless ever since...

omg - I assume you are talking about pins 2-3 on the 6 pin connector. These are the ground returns for the twisted pair audio that are being used as a return path for the k-bus instead of the digital ground.

I was gripping back in January that Dice had a ground return issue & I was told I was full of it.

Well this is definitely NOT a recommended solution, but hey, if it works.

omg - I assume you are talking about pins 2-3 on the 6 pin connector. These are the ground returns for the twisted pair audio that are being used as a return path for the k-bus instead of the digital ground.

I was gripping back in January that Dice had a ground return issue & I was told I was full of it.

Well this is definitely NOT a recommended solution, but hey, if it works.

Do you lose your bookmarks when you leave the car? That's my main gripe with the Dice. When you press playlist, album, or artist buttons after starting the car, it starts from the beginning of the list.

I know what you mean. Hit the wrong button with the Dice & you have just lost your spot in your play list.

The USA-Spec remembers the last played position in all four playlists ... even when you remove the iPod for reprogramming.

BTW, I've been pretty vocal on the forums about my issues with all the various Dice / Icelink products throughout the years and their reliability issues...

Anyhow, if someone has a GROM unit and someone has an OEM latest generation iPod adapter, could you also make youtube videos please? (there are already videos for the Intravee II). We should organize them into a single thread that has operational videos showing features etc, as well as links to installs etc. I feel this would much more constructive than having members and sponsors argue all the time about whose ipod adapter is the best etc...

Note: My biggest gripe with Dice was the static noise, known as tic-tac-tic-tac. Once members here discovered the trick to move the pin2 to pin 3 on the BMW harness (in the trunk) my static noise is history. Dice has been flawless ever since...

Quote:

Originally Posted by steve.325i

omg - I assume you are talking about pins 2-3 on the 6 pin connector. These are the ground returns for the twisted pair audio that are being used as a return path for the k-bus instead of the digital ground.

I was gripping back in January that Dice had a ground return issue & I was told I was full of it.

Well this is definitely NOT a recommended solution, but hey, if it works.

Dice should fix the problem IN THE DICE!!!

I discovered this (and posted about it) with regards to the Dice and the Sirius slave cable. It you are slaving a Sirius or Changer off the Dice, its easy to swap pins 2 and 3 on the factory slave cable... That clears up the noise issue with that too...

Oh, I didn't talk about that in my video because I don't use it but yes it has an aux in - not a 1/8" like the Dice, it has two RCA plugs like on the back of a stereo.

Here's the part you are not going to like though. I am 99% positive that you loose a playlist button when you select that option through the switches on the USA-Spec module.

I have the USA spec as well and I love it. The instructions say that if you use the AUX you lose the direct mode which is to control the ipod from the device. I upgraded my radio and run a seperate AUX just in case I might be using a different device such as a blackberry or some other DAP.

I've had the GROM unit. This was the radio connection. Mine didn't have the USB connection. GROM has excellent customer service, but I kept on having problems with mine. The audio kept on getting garbled or it would just plain lose connection and I would have to take out the radio to disconnect and reconnect...pain. I returned mine 6 times before I finally got a refund.

I've been using the USA spec for a couple of months now and had no problems at all. I've read in other threads that the OEM BMW ipod adapter is a bastardized version of the USA spec.

My only issue with USA spec is that I wished it was a radio connection instead of the cd changer connection in the trunk. It was a pain the run the cables under the carpet. I don't know about anyone else, but I had to remove my seats to run the cable (I don't have fold down seats). At the end it was worth it. I installed the unit underneath the center console. The instructions say to install the device where it can be accessible. I did have to modify the coin holder to make everything fit so if you go this route, be warned, it's not rocket science but it's not a walk in the park either. If I were to do it over again, I would have just installed everything in the trunk and left my ipod in there. I never use the ipod itself, the radio controls are pretty good and the install could have taken about 10 min.

I have no experience with DICE so I can't comment on it. The USA spec works and very well. Seems pretty bulletproof to me. I bought mine at pacificstereo.com for $120.

If I were to do it over again, I would have just installed everything in the trunk and left my ipod in there. I never use the ipod itself, the radio controls are pretty good and the install could have taken about 10 min.

I have said the same thing myself. If I hadn't have installed the Dice in the rear ashtray compartment already, I would have just stuck the USA-Spec in the trunk. I have no need to access it. It's always on.

checked their site about iPhone compatibility;
"Yes, all our models with the new and older iPhones, including the new 3G iPone. They also correctly charge all the new 3G iPhones." (some missing words and letter but I get it)

Also important for iPhone users when getting a call; "The sound from the stereo will automatically mute and the phones ring will be heard over the factory radio speakers. When the call answered on the iPhone, it will enter privacy mode and the iPhone operates as it normally does during a call. No sound will come from the stereo system. Once a call is completed the sound returns to the factory radio."

For anyone that's interested in trying. DO NOT DO IT!!! The USA spec cable is bigger and thicker than the denison cable and it just won't fit. I've spent hours trying to make it fit and tore up some of the trim. Now I just have the cable dangling on the side of the center console and connect it to the ipod when needed.

Running the cable under the carpet is also a big time chore. The connection to the unit is about an inch or so in diameter. The carpet also has some foam underneath it which makes it difficult to pull the wire through. I didn't have fish tape like the above posted DIY. I used a regular wire hanger and taped the connector to it.